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A Sandy Hook Pilots Association captain died from injuries suffered during a boarding accident on Wednesday.Capt. Timothy Murray reportedly fell from a pilot ladder while boarding a tanker inbound to the Port of New York & New Jersey at approximately 10:30 p.m., the pilots association said in a statement. Murray was evacuated to a local hospital, where he died from the injuries.The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the incident.The Sandy Hook Pilot Associations provide pilotage services to vessels entering or departing the Port of New York/New Jersey, the Hudson River, the East River, Atlantic City, Jamaica Bay and Long Island Sound.

Port Manager Among 16 Arrested in Beirut Blast Probe

41 minutes ago

Lebanese authorities have arrested 16 people in an investigation into the Beirut port warehouse explosion, state news agency NNA said on Thursday, and a judicial source and local media said the port's general manager was among those being held.NNA did not name the individuals, but quoted Judge Fadi Akiki, a government representative at the military court, as saying authorities had so far questioned more than 18 port and customs officials and others involved in maintenance work at the warehouse."Sixteen people have been taken into custody as part of the investigation," NNA quoted Akiki as saying. He said the investigation was continuing.

Beirut Blast a Wake-up Call on Dangers of Ammonium Nitrate

25 minutes ago

The devastating explosion in Beirut should be a wake-up call for countries on the dangers of ammonium nitrate, which caused the blast, experts say.Lebanese authorities said 2,750 tonnes of the industrial chemical had been stored for six years at Beirut port without safety measures. That stockpile exploded on Tuesday, killing more than 150 people, injuring thousands and leaving about a quarter of a million people homeless.Commonly used in fertilizers and as an industrial explosive, ammonium nitrate is considered relatively safe if handled properly, but it has proved lethal.

Pentagon Chief Concerned About Beijing's Activity in South China Sea

51 minutes ago

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper expressed concerns about Beijing’s “destabilizing” activity near Taiwan and the South China Sea in a call with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the first time the two are believed to have spoken since March.The call came as U.S.-China ties have rapidly deteriorated this year over a range of issues, including Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus, telecommunications equipment maker Huawei, China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its clamp-down on Hong Kong.

Florida Current is the Weakest Its Been in a Century

an hour ago

The Florida Current, which forms the start of the Gulf Stream, has slowed over the past century and is the slowest it has been at any point in the past 110 years, a new study reveals.Researchers have developed a method of tracking the strength of near-shore ocean currents using measurements made at the coast, offering the potential to reduce one of the biggest uncertainties related to observations of climate change over the past century.“In the ocean, almost everything is connected,” said Christopher Piecuch, an assistant scientist in the Physical Oceanography Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and author of the study published Friday in Nature Communications.

Maritime Reporter and Engineering News (July 2020)

Maritime Power Edition